Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities Paperback – April 29, 2010

This is the book I have been waiting for. I have been an avid collector of anything and everything Los Angeles, especially it's historical evolution, the heavy hitters who built it out of a pueblo, it's architecture, it's microcosms, and most significantly, it's people.This book begins with a very well researched essay on the predominatly Black enlaves of Baldwin Hills (film maker John Singleton descibes Baldwin Hills as "the Black Greenwich Village") and a later chapter about Lemiert Park (next door to Baldwin Hills), the new 'mecca' for Black arts and cultural happenings in LA. There is great detail about these now (still fairly pristine) Black middle class residential areas once banned anyone non White from home ownership as late as 1950. I was raised in Lemiert Park, attended schools there so this compilation of "urban essays" really hit a nerve with me. I knew every place mentioned. Besides being able to relate with the good, bad and ugly aspects of "life in the Crenshaw community" (which includes Bladwin, View Park, lemiert and Ladea Heights), this excellent book also goes into great detail about other Black LA areas, like the Oakwood section in Venice, CA. and how the neighbors banned together to take control back of their area from rampant crime and drugs. Much is written about the huge post WWII migration of Blacks form the South tothat yearned for a better life in sunny LA-from Central Avenue to West Adams and then further west only to find a new style of more subtle opression. How Hollywood portrays Black life in LA. There is a fascinating chapter on how gangs (Crips in particular) formed and grew like a bad desease throughout LA County and across state lines. and how the murder rate in LA reached epidemic proportions when crack Cocaine hit the streets. Dealers quickly utliized gang members as retailers. The '65 Watts and '92 King riots are discussed in terms of not just the trigger that ignited them, but the agonizing and festering horrific LAPD law enforcement and political conditions that made two such outbusrsts ripe at two different times-proving that not a lot has changed for Blacks in Los Angeles after 27 years.But these are just some examples. It reads well, hard to put down, the research is excellent, and this book really tells a story of a city in tatters, but with a few scant glimmers of hope for young Blacks and other minorities. It;s not really a doom & gloom read, but it states in plain speak harsh realities of living in LA.I strongly feel this particular book should be recommended reading in high schools and local colleges. It says volumes about our way of life and is very educational.

Read for a book group. I've been a resident of LA for 20 years and needed this excellent volume to learn more about the history of my city. For those a bit daunted by the length don't be - each chapter is really readable and focuses on one aspect of black life / history and all are approachable and, while clearly well researched, are written in a really readable style.

Excellent book if you want to learn the history of the African American community in Los Angeles from the 1940's- the early 2000's you have to read this book. You see the struggles of the community then and now. If this is a subject that interest you than you will not waste your money.

Incredibly detailed stories of the life of African Americans in Los Angeles. Highly recommend!

Love this book wich provides an comprehensive history of Black Angelenos , their contributions, struggles and willingness to survive and truimp in racist America. I would highly recommended to all a good read.

I got this book for class but i thoroughly enjoyed it

I bought this book as a gift for a history-buff friend. Was also planning to purchase one for myself until I saw it.With a book of this type, I'd expected pictures, and plenty of them. Instead there are a few sparse, relatively small, images that are not particularly interesting. The amount of dense text on every page is off-putting and fatiguing to the eyes.It's as if the editors were too lazy to do the grunt work necessary to produce a really fine book. They didn't dig deeply into the rich history of "Black Los Angeles." They didn't bother to track down and incorporate of the vast array of momentous, spectacular race-related images of events and phenomena recorded in L.A.'s archives. Instead they composed a book of musings authored by several individuals; some interesting, others not so much, threw in a few modern-day snapshots, and let it go at that. If I want to see how Los Angeles looks today, I needn't buy a $75 book. I can just get go outside and look around.Also, the book is much smaller than I'd expected, and was embarrassed when my friend opened his gift book and I saw inside for the first time. No one looking at this book would ever guess it retails for $75. For that amount I'd expect a book that's entertaining as well as informative. These editors could take a lesson from Tom Reed's "The Black Music History of Los Angeles - Its Roots." Not a cheap book, but worth every penny. Unlike this ripoff.

I got the item on time as foreseen and in an excellent state. Nothing to complain or note about this well-done delivery.